Saudi Arabia Airport Hit after Yemen Houthi Strike (Retaliation) – Modern Tokyo Times
Saudi Arabia Airport Hit after Yemen Houthi Strike (Retaliation)
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Iran-backed Houthi movement launched a ballistic missile strike against Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia, saying the attack was retaliation for an earlier Saudi strike on Sanaa International Airport in Yemen. The latest exchange underscores the fragility of a region where local conflicts increasingly intersect with wider geopolitical rivalries.
Yemen’s civil war has long evolved into a proxy struggle involving Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states on one side and Iran on the other. Consequently, renewed military exchanges raise concerns that the conflict could once again spill beyond Yemen’s borders.
Regional tensions have already intensified following the recent confrontation between the United States and Iran, alongside Israel’s military operations against Iran and several Iran-backed armed groups. Against this backdrop, the latest Saudi-Houthi escalation risks further destabilizing an already volatile security environment stretching from the Red Sea to the Levant.
The New York Post reports: “The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group fired a ballistic missile at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of orchestrating airstrikes at its airport – with the terror group also raising suspicion around a key Red Sea trade route.”
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesperson, warned both international and domestic airlines to avoid Saudi airspace until what he described as the blockade on Sanaa International Airport is lifted.
According to reports, the Saudi strike on Sanaa International Airport was intended to prevent an aircraft from Iran from landing, prompting swift condemnation from the Houthis and a military response.
Gen. Taher al-Aqili, Yemen’s Defense Minister, declared: “At this moment, we say that our patience has run out. Accordingly, we will respond appropriately to this treacherous and brutal act, and we will confront and deal with the hostile aircraft violating Yemeni airspace and sovereignty by all available means.”
Reuters reports: “The strikes are the first claimed by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia since an informal truce went into effect in March 2022 following Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure.”
Khaled Khiari, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, warned: “Yemen and the wider region cannot afford another cycle of escalation.”
He added: “We call on all actors to constructively engage in negotiations under UN auspices.”
AP News notes: “Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, forcing the government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, intervened the following year to restore the government. Tensions also emerged between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, illustrating the shifting alliances that have complicated the conflict.”
The latest confrontation also carries broader strategic implications. The Red Sea remains one of the world’s most important maritime corridors, while Saudi Arabia’s security is closely linked to the wider Gulf balance of power and the American military presence in the region. Any sustained escalation between Riyadh and the Houthis risks drawing regional and international actors into another dangerous cycle of confrontation, reinforcing the reality that West Asia and the Levant remain among the world’s most geopolitically unstable regions.
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